Scientometrics

, Volume 107, Issue 2, pp 337–355 | Cite as

Factors influencing research collaboration in LIS schools in South Africa

  • Jan Resenga Maluleka
  • Omwoyo Bosire Onyancha
  • Isola Ajiferuke
Article
First Online:
Received:

Abstract

The study sought to explore the underlying factors that influence research collaboration in Library and Information Science (LIS) schools in South Africa. The population for the study consisted of 85 academic teaching staff employed by LIS schools in South African universities. A survey design was used to obtain data for the study, through a questionnaire containing open- and close-ended questions. A total of 85 teaching staff in 10 LIS schools in South Africa were alerted, through email, to the location of the Web-based questionnaires, developed using the Stellarsurvey software. A total of 51 questionnaires were completed and returned for analysis. The findings suggest that factors such as networking, sharing of resources, enhancing productivity, educating students, overcoming intellectual isolation, and accomplishments of projects in a short time as well as learning from peers influenced research collaboration in LIS in South Africa. Factors that are likely to hinder effective collaboration in LIS research include bureaucracy, lack of funding, lack of time, as well as physical distance between researchers. The findings further suggest that even though there are drawbacks to collaboration, majority of LIS researchers thought that collaboration is beneficial and should be encouraged.

Keywords

Research Library and Information Science Universities South Africa 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

This paper reports part of the findings of Mr Jan Malulaka’s Masters dissertation, which was completed in 2014. Mr Jan Maluleka was a student at the University of South Africa. The project was supervised by Prof Omwoyo Bosire Onyancha, Chair and Professor, Department of Information Science and Prof Isola Ajiferuke, University of Western Ontario.

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Copyright information

© Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  • Jan Resenga Maluleka
    • 1
  • Omwoyo Bosire Onyancha
    • 1
  • Isola Ajiferuke
    • 2
  1. 1.Department of Information ScienceUniversity of South AfricaPretoriaSouth Africa
  2. 2.University of Western OntarioLondonCanada

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